I have been on a quest for a .380 pocket pistol for years now. I have owned a Walther PPK/S, a Walther PPK, a Colt Government 380 (when they first came out), a Colt Mustang Pocket-Lite (Sold the Colt Govt .380 to buy it) and a Kel-Tec P3AT. I have omitted a few .380’s I have owned such as an Astra Constable… Suffice it to say, for a variety of reasons, I have not been satisfied with any of them. Recently I have been in the market for a Kahr 380 to replace my Kel-Tec.
As I was kicking tires in a local gun store last Thursday I came across a .380 manufactured by Diamondback Firearms. I had never heard of the company before, but the gun looked interesting. Except for grip angle and trigger, it looked like a shrunken Glock. The grip angle is straighter and the trigger is steel. Also the trigger is sans the Glock “safety” on the tip.
I field stripped the gun in the store (the owner is a friend.) The takedown is identical to Glock and once the slide was removed, looking at the underside of the stainless steel slide, I would be hard pressed to tell it was not a Glock slide and internals. The disconnector cut on the slide is different, but that is about it.
The internals in the polymer frame are different, but work on the same principle as a Glock. The sear is pinned in place and pivots in order to retract and release the striker. The slide rails in the frame are an insert like a Smith and Wesson M&P.
The barrel looks like a Glock. The feed ramp is “stepped” with a “trough” running up the center. Colt started doing this with feed ramps on Government Models recently. The idea is that the nose of the fmj ammo will make contact with the bottom of the trough and feed up the feed ramp. Hollow point ammunition will contact the sides of the feed ramp while feeding. This is supposed to keep the edges of the hollow cavity from making contact with anything while feeding.
The recoil springs is not trapped but other than that it is like a sub-compact Glock.
The trigger is radiused and smooth just like many double action revolvers. The trigger pull is about 5.5 pounds and very smooth. The trigger reset is that of a double action revolver. It must be released all the way forward in order to reset the sear on the striker.
The magazine release is metal. There is a very small “fence” raised around the magazine release. The magazine release must be depressed slightly below the grip, but not the frame, to release the magazine. I like this feature as I have inadvertently released several magazines in my pocket.
Since the gun is striker fired the back strap is higher than that of my Kel Tec. This allows for a higher grip. I can comfortably wrap two fingers around the front strap of this gun. Also the grip is the same width of the slide and not tapered like my Kel Tec, giving the gun a better feel in my hand.
In my opinion, this gun has better sights than any of the previously mentioned .380’s. The sights are fixed with three dots. The rear sight is dovetailed in and drift adjustable for windage. The front sight is pinned and non-adjustable.
Ok, I will cut this short. I bought the gun. I took it to the range Friday and shot 100 rounds of Gold Dot through it. Gold Dot is my .380 defensive cartridge so I was only concerned with how they functioned in the gun. I shot a 10”h X 6”w steel plate at 18 yards. Why 18 yards, because we already had a scenario set up on the range for our weekly practice session. Hitting the plate at 18 yards was easy. I did get a little slide bite in the web of my right hand, but the gun functioned flawlessly. The slide bite did not break the skin.
My son took the gun out on Saturday and he shot 50 more rounds of Gold Dot through it without any malfunctions and he now wants one.
Overall I am very impressed with the gun and hopefully my quest for a .380 has come to an end. During research of the company, Diamondback, I learned their main business is the manufacturing of boat hulls and this is the only firearm they make. It appears they did their research and got it right. Prices range from around $335 for blue and $379 for stainless.
Edited to add: Because of the wider grip, higher back strap and the axis of the bore being lower in the hand, the gun is much easier to control than my Kel Tec. It is also easier to hit with due to the sights. The magazine capacity is 6+1.
As I was kicking tires in a local gun store last Thursday I came across a .380 manufactured by Diamondback Firearms. I had never heard of the company before, but the gun looked interesting. Except for grip angle and trigger, it looked like a shrunken Glock. The grip angle is straighter and the trigger is steel. Also the trigger is sans the Glock “safety” on the tip.
I field stripped the gun in the store (the owner is a friend.) The takedown is identical to Glock and once the slide was removed, looking at the underside of the stainless steel slide, I would be hard pressed to tell it was not a Glock slide and internals. The disconnector cut on the slide is different, but that is about it.
The internals in the polymer frame are different, but work on the same principle as a Glock. The sear is pinned in place and pivots in order to retract and release the striker. The slide rails in the frame are an insert like a Smith and Wesson M&P.
The barrel looks like a Glock. The feed ramp is “stepped” with a “trough” running up the center. Colt started doing this with feed ramps on Government Models recently. The idea is that the nose of the fmj ammo will make contact with the bottom of the trough and feed up the feed ramp. Hollow point ammunition will contact the sides of the feed ramp while feeding. This is supposed to keep the edges of the hollow cavity from making contact with anything while feeding.
The recoil springs is not trapped but other than that it is like a sub-compact Glock.
The trigger is radiused and smooth just like many double action revolvers. The trigger pull is about 5.5 pounds and very smooth. The trigger reset is that of a double action revolver. It must be released all the way forward in order to reset the sear on the striker.
The magazine release is metal. There is a very small “fence” raised around the magazine release. The magazine release must be depressed slightly below the grip, but not the frame, to release the magazine. I like this feature as I have inadvertently released several magazines in my pocket.
Since the gun is striker fired the back strap is higher than that of my Kel Tec. This allows for a higher grip. I can comfortably wrap two fingers around the front strap of this gun. Also the grip is the same width of the slide and not tapered like my Kel Tec, giving the gun a better feel in my hand.
In my opinion, this gun has better sights than any of the previously mentioned .380’s. The sights are fixed with three dots. The rear sight is dovetailed in and drift adjustable for windage. The front sight is pinned and non-adjustable.
Ok, I will cut this short. I bought the gun. I took it to the range Friday and shot 100 rounds of Gold Dot through it. Gold Dot is my .380 defensive cartridge so I was only concerned with how they functioned in the gun. I shot a 10”h X 6”w steel plate at 18 yards. Why 18 yards, because we already had a scenario set up on the range for our weekly practice session. Hitting the plate at 18 yards was easy. I did get a little slide bite in the web of my right hand, but the gun functioned flawlessly. The slide bite did not break the skin.
My son took the gun out on Saturday and he shot 50 more rounds of Gold Dot through it without any malfunctions and he now wants one.
Overall I am very impressed with the gun and hopefully my quest for a .380 has come to an end. During research of the company, Diamondback, I learned their main business is the manufacturing of boat hulls and this is the only firearm they make. It appears they did their research and got it right. Prices range from around $335 for blue and $379 for stainless.
Edited to add: Because of the wider grip, higher back strap and the axis of the bore being lower in the hand, the gun is much easier to control than my Kel Tec. It is also easier to hit with due to the sights. The magazine capacity is 6+1.
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